Monday, April 9, 2012

RCI Cyberjournal

Doctors say a Canadian woman who has received a double lung transplant will stay in a medically induced coma for days. But Helene Campbell's mother says the young Ottawa woman is showing signs of recovery from her surgery. She says her 20-year-old daughter has responded to commands and has tried to open her eyes. Campbell underwent surgery in Toronto on Friday, after spending months campaigning to raise awareness about organ donation. Hercause attracted the attention of Canadian pop star Justin Bieber who joined the effort to convince people to sign organ donor cards.

Aboriginal leaders consider court challenge to pipeline

Canada's Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver says the federal government isn't planning to fast-track the approval process for the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline through the west coast province of British Columbia. The pipeline would carry Alberta crude oil to the West Coast for export to Asia on board huge tanker ships. Aboriginal leaders say they're dismayed with the public hearing process and are now seriously considering challenging the 5.5-billion dollar Enbridge project in court. Coastal First Nations spokesman Art Sterritt says the cancellation of hearings in Bella Bella, B-C last week signalled to many aboriginals that the Canadian government has already heard enough from Northern Gateway's opponents.In last week's budget, the Conservative government announced a streamlined enviromental assessment process that would see major projects receive only one review lasting no longer than 24 months. The new, shortened deadlines would be applied retroactively to projects that are already being reviewed.

Guinean family facing deportation

Barring a last minute reprieve, a Guinean family is facing deportation from Canada. On Saturday, dozens rallied in Montreal in support of the family. Demonstrators called on Canada's immigration minister to issue a last-minute reprieve for the Keita family. Kankou Keita and her five children had their 2007 refugee request denied two years after sending it in. This year their appeal was also turned down. She says her daughters will be forced into arranged marriages and would be subjected to genital mutilation, if they're deported back to Guinea. The family has been told to report to Montreal's Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport for a flight out of Canada on Sunday.

Minister says he knew cost of jets two years ago

Canada's Defence Minister, Peter MacKay, says he was aware two years ago of the increased cost to buy a new fleet of F-35 stealth fighter jets. Mr. McKay says he was aware of the $25 billion price estimate in 2010. That's about $10 billion more than the nearly $15 billion the government maintained would be the price of the 65 jets. MacKay says the additional $10 billion cost is due to an accounting issue which takes into account the cost of pilots' salaries, fuel and maintenance of the current fleet of CF-18 jet fighters. Auditor General Michael Ferguson issued a scathing report last week that slammed the military for keeping Parliament in the dark on the true cost of the procurement. Mr. Ferguson also suggested to reporters that cabinet ministers would have known the true cost of buying the new planes was much higher than the numbers they were using publicly. Opposition parties say the minister should resign over the matter. Mr. Mackay has rejected that demand.

International

Afghanistan, U.S. reach pact on special forces night raids

The Afghan government and the United States signed a deal Sunday governing night raids by American troops. The issue had threatened to derail a larger pact governing a U.S. presence in the country .Afghan President Hamid Karzai asked for an end to the raids, calling them provocative when carried out by foreign troops. The U.S. military had said such operations are essential for capturing Taliban and al Qaeda leaders. An Afghan official says under the agreement, all "special operations" will have to be reviewed and approved by a panel pulled from the Afghan military, government and intelligence services.

Crews works to free miners in Peru

Rescue crews in Peru are trying to free a group of miners. Nine are trapped 200 metres underground. They became trapped after a rockfall collapsed the mine shaft. Contact has been made with the men. So far, rescue crews have been limited in what they can do because they cannot move the heavy equipment needed close to the mine. Authorities hope to have the men out within the next two days.

Crews working to free dozens caught in Pakistan avalanche

Military officials in Pakistan say they're sending heavy equipment to help find the soldiers and civilians buried in a massive avalanche in the Himalayan mountains. It's believed as many as135 people are buried under 20 metres of snow. So far no bodies have been found. Helicopters, sniffer dogs and troops have been deployed tothe remote Siachen Glacier, where the avalanche occurred. The base is situated in a valley between two high mountains. The avalanche hit a battalion headquarters early on Saturday morning. Siachen is on the northern tip of the divided Kashmir region claimed by both India and Pakistan. Both countries have thousands of troops there. There were regular skirmishes there until 2003, when a ceasefire was declared.

Syrian regime imposes new conditions for ceasefire

There are concerns that the Syrian government may be pulling back from a commitment to a ceasefire. International envoy Kofi Annan said last week that President Bashar al-Assad accepted an agreement calling for government forces to withdraw from towns and villages by Tuesday. On Sunday, Syria's Foreign Ministry said the government will not withdraw its troops without written guarantees from rebels that they will also lay down their weapons.The commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army, Riad al-Asaad, saidthat while his group is ready to abide by a truce, it does not recognize the regime "and for that reason we will not give guarantees." At the same time, there appears to be no let up in the the violence in Syria. On Saturday with as many as 160 people werekilled. The United Nations reports more tha 9000 have died in the year-long government crackdown on the uprising.

Pope calls for peace in Easter message

Pope Benedict celebrated Easter Sunday mass in Saint Peter's Square, before tens of thousands of people. Delivering his annual Easter message, he called on Syria to live up to the promises it made in a United Nations-brokered ceasefire plan. The pontiff also expressed concerns about terrorist attacks in Nigeria that have targeted Christians and Muslims. He also prayed for peace in Mali where the government was recently ousted in a coup.

Mali's speaker returns as transitional head of government

Mali's elected President, Amadou Toumani Toure, has handed in his letter of resignation. The move is the next step in setting up a new transitional government in Mali. Saturday, the speaker of Mali's parliament returned to his country, where he'll head the transitional government. Dioncounda Traore left Burkina Faso after the leaders of a military coup agreed to return power to civilian authorities. The deal was negotiated by the west African regional organisation, ECOWAS. Coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo claims his group wanted to move quickly with the transition. ECOWAS has agreed to lift trade and economic sanctions and grant amnesty to those involved in the coup. Meanwhile, ethnic Tuareg rebels took advantage of the instability to capture several key towns in the north. They've declaredthe Azawad region independent from Mali.

Dozens killed in Nigeria in car bombing

There are reports at least 38 people have been killed in a car bombing that struck the central Nigerian city of Kaduna. An emergency management official says dozens of others were injured and were being treated in hospital. The bomb exploded Sunday morning along a roadway near the All Nations Christian Assembly Church as churchgoers attended Easter services. The city is on the dividing line between Nigeria's largely Christian south and Muslim north.

Sports

SPORTS

CURLING

Canada's Glenn Howard is a world champion for the fourth time. He beat Scotland's Tom Brewster 8-7 to win the gold medal at the world men's curling championship in Switzerland. Howard made a draw to the button in the extra end for the victory.Howard's previous world championship victories came in 1987, 1993 and 2007.

The regular season is over, and the first round of the National Hockey League playoff games will see two of Canada's seven teams in action. In the East, Ottawa faces the top-seeded New York Rangers. In the West, top-seeded Vancouver faces Los Angeles.

Canada's women's hockey team plays Finland Sunday at the world championships in the United States. Canada suffered it's the worst loss ever to the U.S. They lost theopening round 9-2 to the American team.

BASEBALL

Canada's only team in Major League Baseball, The Toronto Blue Jays, play Cleveland Sunday. They beat the Indians Saturday 7-4.